Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Craving the Effort

Despite the fact that I barely slept last night, I am looking forward to this run. I am full of excited anticipation. Today is tempo run day. I'll be doing six miles total, with four at a hard pace, not race pace hard, but harder than usual. I am craving the breeze on my face, the sweat on my forehead, the sheer effort of maintaining a harder pace. Sometimes I dread these workouts, but today I want it. It must be that runner's high, that response to high effort that makes us forget how hard it was and only remember how awesome it can feel to push the body. Right now my mind is foggy from lack of sleep, but I still can't fall asleep. I know, deep down in my bones I know that when I am done with this I will be able to sleep again. I know that my mood will improve. I know that my heart, lungs, and muscles will benefit, but mainly I know that I will feel good.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Hit Your Target.

They were looking at me as if I had absolutely lost my mind.

I love it when my kung fu students look at me like that. When they do, I know I have their attention.

I had held up a kicking target and told them that their job was simply to kick the target with any kick they liked. The hard part was I was going to blindfold them, then move off somewhere in the room and hold the target. They would have to hit the target without seeing it.


          This is not fair!! There is no way we can hit that target if      we don't know where it is. What do you think we are? Ninjas? Are we supposed to smell our way to the target? Are we supposed to hear it? What if we accidentally kick each other? What if we kick you? There is no way we can possibly hit that target without being able to see it. 

They were right of course. That was the point. It was not a test of their ability to kick, or to somehow sense where I was and find the target through some extrasensory method. It was a lesson in goal setting. 

The less specific your goal is, the harder it is to hit it. If your goal is to lose x number of pounds, lift x amount of weight, or run x number of miles, you can then plan out a route to get there. After you plan it out, you can start to follow the path. You will have setbacks and frustrations, but at least you know where you are, where you are going, and what it is going to take to get there. 

Your goals probably won't be the same as mine. They will probably change from time to time. 

Set a goal, and work for it.

Do it again.

And again.

As a personal trainer I can help you come up with goals and monitor your progress and map out your course, but the first thing, the important thing, is to figure out your goal. It can be weight loss, or strength gain. It can be running a 5K or 10K or 50K or 50 mile race. It can be reducing pain in your back, being strong enough to carry your kid without pain. It can be looking good, or feeling good. A workout program could help, a trainer could, a smartphone app could, but you must first set the goal.

So what is your goal?